SilverStone SST-FQ121 Ultra-Quiet PWM 120mm Fans Review

Introduction

SilverStone Technology was founded in 2003 on the principle of recognition that merely having innovative expertise within the industry is not enough. Their objective is to ensure that their expertise is delivered to all products with consistency, in response to user’s needs, and with maximum user satisfaction. SilverStone Technology thrives on challenges of rapid technological advancements and creating an aesthetic standard for the industry. Their products are of high quality. Product lines include PC Chassis, PSU, Cooling Solution, Storage devices, etc.

The SilverStone has sent us their FW and FQ lineup of the fans for the review. Today, we will be reviewing their FQ121 Ultra-Quiet PWM edition 120mm fans. The fans are being marketed as an optimal combination of airflow, pressure and extremely silent performance. Air-inlet with optimized aerodynamic design reduces noisy air turbulence. These fans come in blue/white colors which really looks pleasant in real though looks are subjective and this particular color scheme may not be suitable for all builds.

Specifications

Packaging and Contents

The fans come in a transparent container unlike the cardboard box making the packaging more cost-effective yet stylish. On the front, we can see the top side of the fan. The SilverStone brand name and logo are printed on the top left side. Model no of the fan is SST-FQ121. It is an Ultra-Quiet PWM edition 120mm fan. Special features of the fan are printed on the bottom section. The website address of the manufacturer is printed at the bottom. A picture of the blades showing the air flowing through the blades is printed under the model no of the fan.

The backside of the packaging has the specifications of the fan printed at the top. The special features of the fan are printed in 9 different languages. The serial no sticker is pasted under the specifications. The EAN and UPC info stickers are pasted on the bottom. The fans are made in China.

There are two seal stickers on the top side that need to be cut or taken off so that the container can be opened. Pull the top side of the container with a slight force to see its contents. Under the fan, there is a warranty terms and conditions printout. Contact info of the manufacturer is also printed.

Accessories

The SilverStone has provided:

4x Anti-Vibration Rubber Grommets

4x M3 Tapping Screws

1x Fan

1x Molex/Peripheral Power adapter

1x Low Noise Adapter

1x sheet of 16x anti-vibration rubber pads

Closer Look

The SST-FQ121 is an Ultra-Quiet PWM edition fan from the FQ series of the SilverStone. FQ series is focusing on the low noise fans. We earlier took a look at their FW series fans. The fan has a dimension of a 120X120X25mm. The fan has a PWM connector to its plus giving the users better speed regulation. Let’s take a closer look at the fan. The fan is rated at 12V DC taking input power of 0.30A. Rated speed is 1000 to 1800 RPM. Static Pressure rating is 0.54 ~ 1.82mmH₂O with an airflow rating of 67.5CFM. Noise level is 16.4 ~ 24 dBA. The fan is using P.C.F bearing where P.C.F stands for Powder Copper Fluid, with MTBF of 150,000 hrs. Starting voltage is ≤7V DC. 143±5gm is the weight of the fan.

Let’s look at the top side of the fan. We have a white color frame. The blades are in the blue color. This color scheme is what we saw on their FW series fans. SilverStone is using blue/white colors on their fans under these categories with some fans having these colors in an alternating manner. The fan has standard 120mm fan mount. There is a spacing of 110mm between the two mounting holes in any direction. There is not anti-vibration padding on any of the mounting corners. The SilverStone has provided anti-vibration rubber grommets to cover that aspect. The blades have special design at the bottom that is helpful in ensuring the optimal airflow, air pressure, and silent performance.

The diameter of the motor hub is 40mm. There is a silver color sticker on the hub with the SilverStone brand name and logo printed on it. The hub has curved edges. The fan has 9x blue color blades. Take a closer look at the top edge of the blades, they are double-edged. According to the SilverStone, this design helps in creating more static pressure with low noise levels. The build quality is good and we did not observe any flex in the blades.

The frame of the fan is rock solid. There are arrow indicators on the left side showing the direction of airflow and the blade spin direction. This is the side where the power cable is coming out. Each side has an opening on the frame making its way to the blades part. We are not sure about their possible design element and how this would help in better airflow or air pressure. Each corner of the frame has stepped design with steep slope followed by a straight surface and then again steeped slope. Air-inlet with optimized aerodynamic design reduces the noisy air turbulence.

The backside of the fan has a 4-arms assembly that is holding and connecting the fan to the frame. There is a sticker pasted on the motor hub with the SilverStone brand name and logo printed on the top. The fan is made in China. Model is APA1225M12 DC with 12V 0.30Amp. The arm, right on the bottom of the sticker has more width and it has an inset on which the 4 wires are routed. The cable is sleeved unlike the FW series of fans that we have reviewed earlier. There is a 4-pin PWM connector on the fan in the white color. The length of the cable is approximately 298mm.

Testing

We have tested the SST-FQ121 Fans on the Alphacool Eisbaer 360 which is a 360mm CLC. It is a standard on our test bench that we check the fans for the thermal performance even if they are rated for high airflow than static pressure ones. The other fans in the graph are Eiswind 12 from Alphacool, Corsair HD120, LL120 RGB Fans, Raijintek Iris 12 RGB and Noiseblocker fans. The Eiswind 12 fans operate on the 12V DC. They are 4-Pin PWM fans with the rated speed of the 55-1700 RPM with ±10%. Airflow rating is 63.85 CFM with the static pressure rating of the 1.66mmH₂O. Sound rating is 29 dBA per fan. The reason we are giving the brief rundown of the Eiswind 12 fans is that these are the stock fans of the Alphacool Eisbaer 360 and holds a reference point for the comparison.

Airflow Testing

We test the airflow of the fan without any resistant to the flow i.e there is no radiator or mesh between the fan and the PerfectPrime WD9819 Anemometer. The rated airflow value is 67.5 CFM at full speed. In our testing, the airflow value comes to the 71.19 CFM validating the airflow rating.

PWM Range

Next up, is the PWM range of the fan and the corresponding airflow values. The graphs are showing the range of the speeds on these fans and the airflow measure on each speed in that range.

450 is the lowest RPM achieved on these fans. The maximum speed of the fan comes to 1860 RPM. Rated speed range is 1000-1500 RPM. The lower range of the fan is well below the rated lower speed. The fan stops spinning below 4.5V.

Thermal Testing

Thermal performance of the fan was tested on this test bench:

Intel i7 6850k

Asus Rampage V Edition 10

Ballistix Elite 4x4GB @ 3000MHz

Alphacool Eisbaer 360

Samsung 840 EVO 250GB

Corsair AX 1200i

Testing was performed on the Microsoft Windows 10 x64 Professional edition build version 1709. Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste was used. The fans were put on 50% and 100% of their speed. The pump of the CLC was put on 100% of the speed. Asus RealBench v1.44 was used to stress test the CPU. RealTemp was used to monitor the temperatures. First, the stress test was run on the stock clocks of 3.6GHz with a turbo boost of 38GHz and Turbo Boost II of 4.0GHz at 1.16V VCore. XMP was loaded all the times. Reported temps are delta ones which are calculated by subtracting the average of each core’s maximum temps from the ambient temp. The benefit of using delta temps is that it covers the variation in the temperatures under uncontrolled environment. Next, the Chip is overclocked to 4.3GHz at 1.350V VCore. XMP is loaded as well. The stress test is run again using the same methodology as described above and delta temps are noted.

Here are the results.

At 50% of the rated speed, there was a difference of 0.53°C between the Alphacool Eiswind 12 and the SilverStone FQ121 with Eiswinds taking the lead. At 100% speed, there was a difference of 0.50°C between both fans with the SilverStone SST-FW122 taking the lead.

Next, we overclocked the i7 6850k to the 4.3GHz. At 50% of the speed, the SilverStone FQ121s were trailing behind the Alphacool Eiswind 12 with the margin of 2.27°C. At 100% speed, the SilverStone FQ121s were trailing with the margin of 1.57°C. These fans have struggled with the overclocked chip but the performance level is still acceptable given the acoustic performance.

Acoustics

29 dBA was the reading on our Fonseo Digital Sound Meter at full load and 100% speed.

Conclusion

The SST-FQ121 is an Ultra-Quiet PWM edition fan from the FQ series of the SilverStone. FQ series is focusing on the low noise fans. We earlier took a look at their FW series fans. The fan has a dimension of a 120X120X25mm. The fan has a PWM connector to its plus giving the users better speed regulation. Let’s take a closer look at the fan. The fan is rated at 12V DC taking input power of 0.30A. Rated speed is 1000 to 1800 RPM. Static Pressure rating is 0.54 ~ 1.82mmH₂O with an airflow rating of 67.5CFM. Noise level is 16.4 ~ 24 dBA. The fan is using P.C.F bearing where P.C.F stands for Powder Copper Fluid, with MTBF of 150,000 hrs. Starting voltage is ≤7V DC. 143±5gm is the weight of the fan. We have a white color frame. The blades are in the blue color. This color scheme is what we saw on their FW series fans. SilverStone is using blue/white colors on their fans under these categories with some fans having these colors in an alternating manner.

There are no anti-vibration paddings on the mounting corners but the SilverStone has covered this end with the provision of 4x anti-vibration rubber grommets to dampen the vibration noise. The fan has a PWM connector cable with 298mm length. The cable is sleeved unlike what we saw on their FW series fans. The blades are uniquely designed to give an optimal balance between the airflow, air pressure and the low noise. The build quality of the fans is good. Air-inlet with optimized aerodynamic design reduces the noisy air turbulence.

The fans are listed at $17.43 at the time of the review and price is just right for the performance that these fans offer. On stock clocks, at 50% of the rated speed, there was a difference of 0.53°C between the Alphacool Eiswind 12 and the SilverStone FQ121 with Eiswinds taking the lead. At 100% speed, there was a difference of 0.50°C between both fans with the SilverStone SST-FW122 taking the lead. With overclocked i7 6850k, at 50% of the speed, the SilverStone FQ121s were trailing behind the Alphacool Eiswind 12 with the margin of 2.27°C. At 100% speed, the SilverStone FQ121s were trailing by the margin of 1.57°C. These fans have struggled with the overclocked chip but the performance level is still acceptable given the acoustic performance which was 29 dBA at full speed. These fans have won our Recommended Award.

We are thankful to the SilverStone for sending us their SST-FQ121 fans for the review.